Actigraph

- Dr. Shirley F. Jones

In sleep medicine, we use a tool called an actigraph to measure how much sleep a patient gets, and at what time you sleep and awaken. The actigraph looks like a watch, and it is worn around the wrist or ankle. Inside of this watch is an accelerometer which records movement or motion. When you are more active, like when exercising or walking, the actigraph will record high activity. When you are asleep or resting, the actigraph will record low activity. The actigraph can be worn for weeks at a time, and will create a graph of your activity levels over that period.

An actigraph is helpful for your physician to track your sleep over a long period of time, especially with circadian rhythm sleep disorders. These are sleep conditions that affect the timing of sleep and wake cycles.